Richard Hazellett was born around 1810 in Ireland. He married Mary Bell sometime before 1850. He immigrated to America sometime before 1850 and settled in Hector, New York. They moved to Lodi, New York, in the 1850s, and Hazellett worked as a farm laborer. By 1860, he owned $200 of real estate and $50 of personal property. He served in the 3rd United States Infantry during the 1860s, and he died in 1869.